Technology for Social Good — Good Enough?

With Facebook’s recently launched partnership with other tech to bring Internet access to every person on earth, much discussion has followed around the notion of utilizing the power of technology for social good. This initiative, coupled with the existing global saturation of mobile/smart phone access 5.1 billion mobile phone users by 2017, has turned applications and platforms into instruments for creating monumental changes for individuals and communities across the globe.

One of the most exciting and crucial elements of this unfolding storyline is the fact that this technological impact is reaching some of the most remote and impoverished areas of the world. Marginalized populations are being granted increasing access to many of the life-saving and life-improving services in previously out of reach areas such as healthcare, information technology and finance.

Technology for Social Good

There is one highly crucial area, however, that this “technology for good” movement has yet to really affect: economic opportunity. More specifically, I am referring to traditional hiring processes and cookie-cutter talent evaluations that do not help disadvantaged populations realize their full potential.

Hiring managers and recruiters in particular still rely on archaic resumes and interviewing processes. This is not meant to completely knock the existence of these things as they came into being and survived for a reason: efficiency. Yet digital and mobile technological advances have only heightened the focus on volume and efficiency, while ignoring the all-important human element.

The problem with this practice is two-fold. First, these systems very much cater to the privileged and further marginalize the marginalized. I picture the man with Autism I once met who was a talented designer, but could not secure a job because of the social barriers of the interviewing process and many companies’ cultures. Or the girl I interviewed for a graduate school project who came from an underserved community — despite the fact that she possessed an abundance of talent, skills, and original ideas, she could not compete for jobs in her field because she was being evaluated by her resume, which highlights limiting criteria.

Secondly, the global economy has drastically changed, with entrepreneurs and leaders emerging at younger ages every day and an economy that is now driven mainly by innovation. If we continue to empower only one specific type of leader and neglect to open up marketplaces to the unique and much-needed talents of different individuals, then economies within both the developed and developing world will suffer.

A Brighter Future for the Underdog

Technology can be the spark that transforms these limiting systems and extends economic opportunity to those marginalized populations desperately in need of it. If these individuals remain in the margins, and their perspective, ideas, and talents continue to go untapped, they will become a financial burden to society, rather than viable contributors.

As the creator of Akimbo, an online platform helping young people build their professional brand, enhance their skills and highlight their experiences, and connect to new opportunities, my team and I have aimed to empower entrepreneurs with resources and inspiration, especially by offering solutions to those populations typically ignored and discounted by other companies.

The global dispersion of mobile and broadband access is inevitable. In my lifetime, I will see a world connected like never before, but the burning question remains: What will we do with this newfound power of technology and connectivity?

How will technology help someone in your life who is part of a population currently plagued by unemployment and underemployment (youth, women, the disabled, the formerly incarcerated, and others) tap into their potential to help solve the massive global challenges that we face?

Adrienne Rochetti is co-founder and CEO of Akimbo. Reach her on Twitter at @AkimboFounder.

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